A New Beginning
by MusketWriting
Summary: Rewind to a couple of years before the failed transmutation attempted by the Elric brothers, to a few days after their mothers death. What if War came to Resembool? What if Edwards future was changed by this? Read and find out :D This is a parental Roy, AU Fiction, enjoy :D
1. Chapter 1

Blood.  
Rivers of blood... no oceans of the viscous substance flooded the terrain around him.  
The terrible cloying copper scent invading the nostrils as dull golden eyes, shadowed with overbearing ghosts of the past surveyed the wreckage numbly.

Splintered wood from cart wheels and farm fences jutted up from the mud like bizarre replicas of the masts of shipwrecks, lost forever on the ocean floor; while the roaring flames of what used to be harmless domestic fires danced around the cottages of Risembool.  
In the midst of all the chaos, the figure of a tiny child who could only be at the most six years of age, lay prone, boneless in the sea of mud that had been churned up by the treads of military tanks rolling through the small peaceful town.  
Long blonde hair lay in matted clumps across an angelic yet achingly skinny face, while heavily lidded eyes surveyed the destruction numbly, tattered clothes flapping in the gentle breeze.

At first glance, there seemed to be nothing else wrong with the boy other than a few bruises and scrapes, dried blood crusted in multiple places, at second glance however it was obvious that both the right sleeve of his shirt and the left leg of his trousers were flapping emptily in evidence of missing limbs.  
A small keening whimper floated almost inaudibly in the air as the boy bit a lip violently, entire body spasming in pain before falling still and silent as a corpse once more, golden eyes finally sliding shut as a puff of air escaped chapped lips.

The local innkeeper stared suspiciously at the two military personnel, standing straight backed and to attention before his desk, cobalt uniform jackets with golden braiding laid neatly over their arms in the stifling heat.  
"What is it that you want from here" he snapped tetchily, "none of us round here hold any love for the military"

The tall man with inky black hair tapped two white clad fingers upon the bar, and his blonde haired companion flung a tattered letter down in front of him, short stubby fingers with dirty cracked nails lifted the parchment up to squinting eyes, before widening almost imperceptibly.

"You won't find him here, he's been gone a good many years sir, left behind a wife and two kids up by Pinako Rockbells'" the innkeeper sniffed and chucked the parchment back, a stricken look flashed briefly across the onyx eyed mans face and he took an involuntary half step forward before regaining control, the iron mask slamming back down, a melodic baritone voice emanated from tightly pressed lips.

"Could you please direct me to the Elric household, it is of the upmost importance that we reach there", there was no outward sign of panic in his expression but the innkeeper could almost taste the tension in his words.  
"What would you want to be doin that for, there's naught up there now but ruins and mud after the tanks came rolling through" he sighed "it was a shame, lovely house that one "

In the blink of an eye, the last remaining sign of the military man was the flash of trouser leg as he disappeared out of the door, the blonde woman sighed heavily and snatched up the letter before chasing after him.

"Colonel, Roy!" First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye yelled as she jogged after the mans rapidly retreating back, "don't you think you are being a little rash? We could still have gotten more information from that innkeeper"

Colonel Roy Mustang, youngest ever in Amestris made a sharp chopping gesture with one hand, "No Riza, it was taking too long. Trisha would never have left without letting me know and he obviously didn't know anything so we are going to find out ourselves!  
He ran a jerky hand through his hair and exhaled shakily,

"I have to find them" he whispered

They came to a sudden halt at the crest of the hill, Hawkeye clapped a hand over her mouth at the sight of the deserted wasteland that the land had become "no" Roy breathed desperately, "this can't be" he desperately scanned the area in search of some information.

"Roy" Riza began, violet eyes shining with sympathy as she tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder, "we should..."

She was cut off abruptly when a keening whimper floated to them from over to their left, Roy was off like a shot immediately, falling to his knees beside a small blonde boy that lay spasming in the mud.

"Jesus Riza" Roy swore, "he's missing limbs"

He gently smoothed the boys hair back from his forehead and stroked a thumb soothingly back and forth over his cheek, the boys pain stricken, terrified eyes locked on his tiredly.

"Hush, it's alright" Roy soothed, "you're safe now, everything's going to be alright"

The boys eyes slowly slid shut as the tension left his body, and he blessedly lost consciousness finally realising he was safe.

Roy gently wrapped the boy in his military jacket, not caring about the blood that was staining it only ensuring that all parts of the boy were covered.  
He tenderly swung him into his arms, head resting against Roy's chest and the only sign of life being the tiny, weak puffs of air against his neck.

Riza gripped Roy's elbow and steadied him as he slowly rose to his feet, doing his best to avoid jerking the skeletal child and exacerbating his injuries.  
He turned haunted eyes to his Lieutenant, tears welling up as he shook his head "this is what war does Riza, when I achieve my goal, this will never happen again!

The two turned and made their way back down towards the town, travelling as fast as was possible without hurting the small boy, anger and anxiety was visible in every feature of their bodies.  
Anger at the neglect of the townspeople and anxiety over the fate of the child that had been left to die.

They boarded a train back to Central and sat with bated breath to see whether the boy would survive.

I hope you like this, just an idea that popped into my head recently and had to write! Please read and review, let me know what you think and we will find out what happens to Ed next time :D

Oh and if any of you are concerned about the progress of Bruised and Scarred, I will be updating soon, it has taken so long as I have a chapter all written out that I was very happy with but have been unable to access the computer it is stored on. I will update it as soon as possible :D


	2. Chapter 2

A New Beginning Chapter 2

The train came rattling to a halt at Central Station, jerking roughly over bumps in the line and startling the two Amestrian soldiers into wakefulness, Roy clutching the unconscious boy closer to him in shock. Roy and Riza were on their feet in seconds, racing off the train as quickly as they could.

"Roy Boy" a cheery voice exclaimed, bouncing up to them and thrusting pictures of a small girl in their faces, "look at my little Elysia! She is so cute!"  
A low growl erupted from Roy's throat as a soft creaking sound came from his clenched fists, one eye twitching angrily in irritation, "Maes" he rumbled angrily, "GET OUT OF MY WAY"

With a quick snap of the fingers, Maes Hughes was blown out of their path by a big ball of flame, leaving them free to carry on running and jump into the handily placed military car outside the station. "Hey Roy! That wasn't very nice" Maes sobbed, tears streaming down from behind his chunky square glasses, "and now I have to walk home!"

The old fashioned black military car hurtled at top speed down the cobbled streets of Central, "Roy?" Riza began in concern, "you do realise that this isn't the way to the hospital" she twisted in her seat to peer down the fast retreating street.

Roy didn't answer, merely gripped the steering wheel tightly, knuckles creaking under the strain as he tried to keep his eyes on the road, rather than flicking to the unconscious boy on the back seat.  
Stuck in his thoughts, he very nearly drove past the house he was looking for and had to slam on the brakes suddenly, throwing everyone in the car forwards, earning a small groan from the direction of the backseat.

He flung himself out of the car and scooped the small boy up, before running up the path to the front door and banging on the door, yelling almost hysterically.

"KNOX, KNOX!" he shouted "Open the damn door!"

He raised his fist to knock once again, only barely managing to pull his fist back in time to avoid smashing Dr. Knox in the face.  
An average height, dark haired older man with glasses stood behind the door, rubbing blearily at tired, red rimmed eyes.

"Mustang, what the hell is wrong with you?" the doctor asked in a gravelly voice, "its 4am?"

Knox finally woke up enough to actually take in the man standing on his doorstep, his rumpled hair and clothing and the half dead boy lying in his arms.  
"Jesus Roy" he swore angrily, "why didn't you make this clearer" he gestured towards the boy and gripped Roy by the shoulder, dragging him inside the house and towards his sterile operating room.

Five hours later and Roy and Riza were still sitting motionless in the sitting room of Knox's house, ten empty cups of tea sat scattered over the low coffee table, testament to the anxiety that the two were feeling. The creak of a door opening and the tap of shoes coming down the corridor jerked both military personnel to their feet like they had been given an electric shock.  
Roy dashed forward to the doctor who was wiping blood from his hands with a small towel, "Well, how is he?" he asked frantically, "will he... will he live?"

The doctor held a hand up and flopped down onto the settee in his sitting room, crossing his legs and rubbing his eyes, "he will be fine" he sighed.  
Roy let out a breath he didn't even know that he had been holding and sunk back down, pressing his face into his hands as he finally let go of the stress of the evening, shoulders relaxing visibly.

"The good news is that he will eventually be able to get automail" the doctor paused wearily and glanced at the man and woman who were sitting on the edge of their seats opposite him, "the bad news is that he has a very serious infection that has weakened his lungs and immune system."

"So what does this mean for his future?" Riza whispered nervously, twisting her fingers together anxiously in her lap.  
Knox smiled gently "he might have problems breathing in cold weather or even develop asthma, also he will be more susceptible to illnesses. Other than that, your son will be fine" he reassured them.

Riza and Roy stared at each other open mouthed for a moment and then blushed a furious red, "Oh,no, no he's not our son!" they exclaimed.

"Then why the hell did you bring him to me? Would the hospital not have done for a random street urchin!" he growled angrily, "I am not a doctor and if I hadn't thought he was yours, I wouldn't have helped! Now get out of my house!"

He stood up and turned to storm out to his bedroom but was stopped by a hand on his chest,  
"I came to you because I knew I could trust you and that boy is the son of a very old friend of my mothers, I wouldn't have brought him here either if I didn't care" Roy whispered, "and I knew if I took him to a military hospital, they'd have him in an orphanage before you can blink, that is if they didn't give up on saving him!"

Knox sighed in aggravation, "well I can't kick you out now after that pathetic display can I you wussy" he shook his head and carried on, waving a hand at them over his shoulder "well come on then, I have some guest rooms you can stay in, the kid won't wake till tomorrow"

Both of them followed the doctor from the room and down the corridor, where Roy turned off and slipped into the room that the young boy had been placed in.  
He sank down into the chair next to the bed and gently stroked the boys hair back from his head, leaning back he took the boys one hand into his and whispered gently "I'll be here when you wake up" and he settled back in the chair, ready for a long night.

Yay! Second chapter done! :D Not sure how it turned out, I think I tried to fit too much information in the one chapter, let me know what you think! Thankyou! :D


End file.
